Mystery and Suspense, Flavored with Folklore

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New Release: Murder in Plane Sight by Julie Holmes #Mystery #Suspense

I am über excited to be taking part in the book launch blog tour for my friend, Julie Holmes. Her debut release, Murder in Plane Sight, a mystery/suspense novel is now available. I have been looking forward to this release for a long time, and am thrilled to know Julie has more mysteries planned. If you’re not already following her blog, Facets of a Muse, you’re missing out on a lot of fun. This isn’t the first time Julie has appeared on my blog, but it IS the first time she’s been here to share a novel she’s written. I hope you’ll give her a warm welcome!

Thank you, Mae, for hosting me! I’ve had the opportunity to watch fellow writers release their books. I’ve even hosted their announcements on my own blog, hoping that someday it would be my turn to announce my own book release.

That day is here. It’s both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because I have reached a goal I have been aiming for since elementary school. Terrifying because I can no longer stay home and quietly keep writing, not if I want to gather readers.

I’ve been paying attention to my fellow writers and what they do for their book releases. Some offer a bit of insight into their process, which seems to suggest there is some sort of order to the whole thing.

I suppose there is. First come the characters.

No, wait, first comes the story.

Hmm. It’s different for every writer, and for me it can be different for every book. Sometimes I come up with characters who need a story. Sometimes I get a great story idea, and the characters follow.

So which was it with this book, you ask? That’s a little tricky, because the very first draft wasn’t set at the airport at all. In fact, it was a whole different story, with a main character who was an aircraft mechanic, and a story set in rural Minnesota. What is the point of a character who works at the airport when the story isn’t set there?

I realized I had two separate stories: a character who needed a story, and a story that needed a character. So I pulled my aircraft mechanic out of rural Minnesota and gave her a story. And of course, as is usual in my creative process, her first story wasn’t even set on the airport grounds.

Which I realized after I wrote the first draft and started reading through it. And I heard the voice of my writing teacher, clear as day: Why isn’t she at the airport?

Um. Yeah. Duh!

And eventually the story matured into Murder in Plane Sight.What about the other story, you ask? That’s on my list to work on after I finish Book 2. Yes, there will be another Sierra Bauer mystery. 🙂

BLURB:Sierra Bauer, aircraft mechanic, struggled against personal tragedy to reclaim control of her life and her aviation career, but when she discovers a frozen body in her inspection plane, she must prove her innocence and uncover the key to exposing a deadly aviation conspiracy before she becomes the next casualty.

Short Excerpt:Headlights glared in the rearview mirror. Sierra Bauer slowed, but not enough. Her car slid around the turn onto the service drive that ran past the Range Airlines maintenance hangar on the western side of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. She steered into the skid, regained control. Cursed the timing of the snow.

The idiot stuck to her backside like duct tape, too damn close even for Minneapolis drivers in these two inches of fresh January snow. Sierra considered hitting the brakes.

A deep rumble, and her tailgater passed her.

A pickup truck.

In the glow of her headlights, she identified the color.

Black.

Her breath caught.

An outline of a pale rectangle peeked from the layer of snow on the rear bumper.

What a interesting process you went through to get here Julie. The idea and character had to meet up. I find it interesting how a book comes to an author and how it grows and changes. Congrats on your amazing debut and I wish you a ton of success:)

I found the background on this book intriguing, too. Every author works differently, but it was interesting to learn that in the original draft (or at least part of it, LOL), the story wasn’t even set at an airport! Having read the book, the way Julie pulled everything together was seamless!

I love how you Frankensteined your work together to give a plot a good character and to give a character a good plot. I also love that you heard your teacher’s voice as you worked. Your process shows a great amount of discipline, and it was evident in the work. Wishing you all the best.

Heh, Frankensteined–love it! I did something similar with my police procedural, though those two books were in the same series. And I swear to god I heard her voice loud and clear. Great teachers are like that.

Thank you for following my tour, and for the wonderful review post yesterday! I have met some wonderful friends in this writing community of ours!

I have much respect for Frankensteined stories. I agree that Julie did an excellent job and delivered a great debut! Makes me think there is hope for a Frankenstein story I’ve never finished. She nailed it with Murder in Plane Sight!

Murder in Plane Sight is an intriguing mystery read for sure, Robbie.
And I know what you mean about story ideas. I have an old trunk novel I’m still trying to make work but my melding of ideas hasn’t gotten me anywhere!

Julie, I loved learning how you created this book … and I can just imagine your eureka moment! Great that you’ve got more planned for Sierra Bauer (terrific name!) Best of luck with your book and savour this sensation! xx